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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220770">Too Far?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svarto/pseuds/Svarto'>Svarto</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sonic Boom Oneshots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(who am i kiddin this is straight up eggdad), Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Gore, Panic Attacks, Temporary Character Death, eggman being nice, eggman is KINDA father-y here, sonic being vulnerable</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:54:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,528</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220770</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svarto/pseuds/Svarto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggman tests out some new hologram technology on Sonic, but accidentally takes it a bit too far, and now has to deal with a panicking hedgehog</p><p>But hey, sometimes you gotta give your arch-nemesis a free therapy session bc you gave them a panic attack on what was supposed to be a chill afternoon, right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik &amp; Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sonic Boom Oneshots [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>164</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Too Far?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote most of this after having been awake for 40 hours and consuming around 1kmg of caffeine, so basically i was astral projecting &amp; woke up the next day with 4k words and no memory of how they got there. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     Eggman had done it, he had successfully captured Sonic The Hedgehog. Well, for now, anyway. Catching the blue rodent wasn’t too difficult, it was getting him to stay put that was a challenge. The teen held more energy inside him than your average nuclear reactor, so keeping all that hyperactivity inside of a cage proved...frustrating. This time he really had him though, he had been watching the hedgehog pathetically try to squirm his way out of his handcuffs for the past 10 minutes with no luck. This was perfect, he could finally test out something new he had just been </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to show the little rat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The opportunity had laid itself out perfectly in front of him. The blue one’s friends were all going on a boat trip for the afternoon for some reason or another, and Sonic had, quite predictably, not wanted to be stuck on a boat surrounded by nothing but his greatest fear for 4+ hours. All Eggman had to do was wait until the rodent had let his guard down, and then swoop in with a robot attack that was far too overwhelming for one little hedgehog. He wasn’t quite so powerful without his pesky friends, now was he??</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    He looked again at the monitor showing Sonic’s cell. The hedgehog seemed to have given up on squirming– </span>
  <em>
    <span>took him long enough </span>
  </em>
  <span>–and instead his eyes were darting around the room, probably looking for something that could help him escape. But the rodent would find not a single thing out of place. Eggman had been preparing for this for months, the perfect day, when Sonic was isolated, his friends not responding to their communicators, and his mustache looking fantastic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Sir?” A slightly robotic voice drew him out of his inner monologue, and he looked to his side to see Orbot floating attentively, while Cubot seemed to be studying its own hands behind it, “Everything is in order for your presentation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Eggman gave a sinister smile to the monitor before cracking his knuckles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Perfect. Begin the simulation.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>*                                             *                                                *</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>     Sonic was having a bad day. First his friends ditched him to go hang out with the ocean or something, then he’d dropped his chili dog in the sand, and now he’d been kidnapped by Eggface. On top of that, since he hadn’t gotten any response from the others when he had sent his distress signal on the communicators, that meant they were probably out of range or not checking them, so he’d have to wait until they were all back from making out with the ocean for them to even see his signal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Now he was stuck in a stupid boring cell with his arms handcuffed chained to the wall behind him. They were attached too far down for him to stand up properly, which meant running wasn’t an option. He had tried to spin dash when he first got here, but he quickly realized his mistake when he remembered that his shoulders can’t bend that far – Ouch. He’d probably have to wait this one out. He could do that, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Yeah, of course he could, he’s Sonic the Hedgehog dammit! This would be easy. Just sit still and wait for rescue. He can do this!</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>     He can do this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     …</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     ...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     ...</span>
  <em>
    <span>Or not. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     It took about 5 seconds for him to get bored out of his mind, and immediately start searching for something to do. He couldn’t even tap his foot properly when he was tied up like this! How long had he even been here? His guess would be somewhere between an hour and eternity. What was taking that damn Egghead so long?? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Hey, Eggbreath! Quit brushing your mustache and hurry it up!” He shouted, only half expecting a response. A few seconds passed, and nothing. He started trying to tap his foot, as though the light tapping noise would help pass the time somehow. He groaned and tried to twist into a more comfortable position, switching from kneeling to crossing his legs and leaning back into the cold metal wall behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>     Tap.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>     Tap tap.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>     Tap.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     He shifted again, observing the cell he was stuck in. It was big enough, 3 walls of light gray concrete, with a green force field as the last one, blocking his exit to the door. It was solid, unlike the typical ones of energy bars Eggface used, meaning he was adapting somewhat… He spotted the camera outside the cell and glared at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Come ON! It’s got to have been like, an hour by now! Is this really how you treat your guests??” He whined. If he was gonna have to put up with this, he was going to make sure Dr. Eggbert had to listen to him complain. This finally seemed to catch his attention however, as there was a crackling noise of an intercom turning on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It’s been TWELVE MINUTES, Rodent! Quit being a drama king!” Spat the Egg himself. Sonic just smirked, having successfully irritated him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well ~sooorry~ Eggface, every second in here feels like an hour!” He grinned. He could hear more annoyed grumbling from the intercom, probably giving an order to one of his bots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well then, good news, your waiting is done!” Eggman started doing a cartoonishly evil laugh, that made Sonic want to roll his eyes more than anything, “I’ve just got to–”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>     CRASH</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     “DAMN IT! NOT NOW!! ROBOTS ATT–” The intercom cut off before Sonic could hear any more, but his ears perked up. Was that them already?? His question was quickly answered when the door to the room started denting and shaking, and finally flying off to reveal Amy with her hammer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Ames! Great to see you!” He grinned, “Not often you’re the one busting me out, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Oh please,” She rolled her eyes, “I can’t leave one day without you getting captured. Just come with us next time?” She complained, smashing a robot that had followed her in. Before he could counter or reply, Tails flew in, his face immediately lighting up upon seeing the blue hedgehog. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Sonic!! Hold on, let me try to hack through the door, Amy, keep the robots away,” The kit attached a gadget to a panel next to the field, starting to type on it, while Amy turned to smash all the robots that were trying to swarm in through the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Hey buddy, where’re Knux and Sticks?” He questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Fighting with Eggman in the lobby. Now hold on, I gotta focus on hacking this.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Sonic nodded, glancing around the rest of the room. He was looking forward to kicking that egg’s ass when he got out of here, plus destroying more robots. He was idly tapping his foot when he noticed something roll in through the door. It took a moment for him to process what it was, and his eyes widened in panic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “BOMB!!!” He shouted trying to warn the other two, but before he could even finish the word there was a blast, the room outside the cell flashed bright white, and all noise was engulfed by the sound of the explosion. He could hear his ears ringing, and feel the ground shaking, but he had been protected from the actual blast and shrapnel by the force field. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust back to normal, and he looked out at the scene in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Most of the lights were out, but there was still enough light from the hall and force field to see. The wall next to the door had collapsed, there was rubble and shrapnel and small fires across the room. His throat caught when he finally caught sight of her. He suddenly got tunnel vision, his mind focusing only on one thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Amy was dead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     He didn’t need to look twice, she had been right next to the explosion, and it showed. His senses all numbed out for a second, his eyes blurring as he tried to process what was happening. She was </span>
  <b>
    <em>dead.</em>
  </b>
  <span> Not just injured, </span>
  <b>
    <em>dead. </em>
  </b>
  <span>Her injuries were way too much to heal from… he felt himself start panicking. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s no way this was happening. He’d never even gotten to–She couldn’t be–</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     “S….Sonic…?” A small voice called out, and he snapped back. Thank chaos, Tails was still alive. He had to focus on getting him out, that’s all that mattered right now, he could panic later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Tails?” he asked frantically, scanning the room. His eyes finally locked on the fox, who was curled up against the wall, and another wave of panic hit him. The kit had clearly tried to block most of the shrapnel with his tails, but a large chunk had hit him in the side of his head. His eyes widened as he looked him over, trying to assess the damage. It was a lot, he clearly wouldn’t be able to fight, but if he could get him home fast enough then he would live. Probably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It’s ok, little buddy, just listen to me, ok? I-I’ll find a way out of this, just stay awake–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I-I can’t… move…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Shh hold on, it’s ok, hold on,” he started pulling as much as possible on the handcuffs, trying to push from the wall behind him in hopes that he could break the chains, when he heard a sinister laugh from above. It didn’t sound like how Eggman usually laughed, this was much… harsher. Crueler. This whole thing… it wasn’t like him. Sonic glared up at the camera. “Let me go, Eggman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Awh, you want to leave already? Right when things got interesting?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Interesting?? You killed her! What’s gotten into you!!!” He yelled, hoping to shout some sense into the doctor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>       “Oh, I didn’t just kill the pink one! This was a perfect time to test some of my </span>
  <em>
    <span>other </span>
  </em>
  <span>inventions on your little friends!” Sonic’s eyes widened, and he could feel his soul drop out of his body, a lump forming in his throat. Sticks and Knuckles.... They were… also dead? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gone? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>failed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to keep them alive too??</span>
</p><p><span>      Now he </span><b><em>had</em></b> <span>to get Tails home. He just had to get him home so he could bandage him up and tuck him in and prove that he could protect </span><em><span>someone, </span></em><span>so that he could have </span><em><span>someone, </span></em><b><em>anyone, </em></b><span>left. He blinked back tears, </span><em><span>he didn’t have time to cry, </span></em><b><em>he just had to escape.</em></b></p><p>
  <span>      “I’ll get out of here and test those inventions on <em>you!!</em>” He shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Oohhhh I’m sure you will, but can you do it in time to save your little fox friend??” Came the sadistic voice from above, and the hedgehog noticed the sound of metallic clinking as a robot approached the room. This was a new one, but he couldn’t care </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>stupid name the doctor had given it, so he completely ignored the monologue that droned on above him. What mattered was that laser cannon attached to the thing’s arm, that thing looked dead-deadly. '</span>
  <em>
    <span>This couldn’t be happening',</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the one thought consuming him. </span>
  <span>The thing started to narrow in on Tails, who was too weak to speak or move, just staring up at the thing in terror.   </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>“NO!!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The metallic footsteps were overwhelming, and Sonic pulled so hard at the cuffs they would soon start cutting through his skin, but he didn’t care. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He had to get out and get to Tails</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em> he had to.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>      Everything felt like slow motion, he saw the robot start aiming and charging its gun and time just stopped. He didn’t even register the pain from the handcuffs anymore, his body having gone completely numb from adrenaline.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <b>
    <em>And the cuffs still wouldn’t budge.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    
  </b>
  <span>All he could do was watch as the weapon finished charging, and Tails looked at him one last time.</span>
</p><p><b><em>“MILES!!!”</em></b><span> Sonic screamed, tears stinging at his eyes. He felt like throwing up, but couldn’t tear his eyes away. Every part of him was screaming out to protect him, but he knew it was too late, </span><em><span>it was too late, </span></em><b><em>he was going to lose the only family he had left and it was all his fault.</em></b> <b><em>If he had just gone on the stupid trip, or escaped on his own, or done anything differently then they would still be alive, its because of him, h i s   f a u l t-</em></b></p><p>
  <span>      His spiral was interrupted by the sound of Eggman laughing, though not the same malicious, monstrous laugh from earlier, this one sounded much more like him. Still cruel, sure, but less...sinister. The lights suddenly all switched back on, and in the blink of an eye all of the rubble and….bodies…were gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “Surprise! It’s an illusion!” The laugh continued as Sonic scanned the room for any trace of the battle. Nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>      “So, do you like my new holo-tech? I’ve been wanting to try it out for months!” Holo-tech. Oh. Ok. That made sense… a hologram. He did his best to swallow the lump caught in his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “S-So they’re not…” His voice and breathing were still shaky, but Eggman either ignored it or didn’t pick up on it entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Dead? No, they’re not even done with that stupid tour they’re on. Don’t think they got your distress signal yet. Wanna know how I did it?” He started on his typical spiel, but Sonic tuned it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They’re not dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     They’re alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     It’s ok.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>It’s ok.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>So why is it still so hard to breathe.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    
  </b>
  <span>He felt his breathing only grow faster and more ragged, despite his best attempts at calming himself down. Chaos, he wanted to scream, or fight, or throw some quip back at the doctor, but he couldn’t get a single coherent thought through his head. He shut his eyes and curled up as tightly as possible, burying his face into his knees. He could vaguely hear that Eggman was still talking, but he couldn’t even bring himself to care what it could possibly be about. This was dumb. Why was he still panicking? He’s Sonic The Hedgehog!</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>    ‘That’s right,</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em> I’m </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>Sonic The Hedgehog! I can handle anything!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>     ….So why am I crying?’</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>*                                            *                                                *</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>      Eggman smiled with glee as he watched the hedgehog completely fall for his deception, clearly believing every hologram in front of him. He’d never seen the blue rat so </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared </span>
  </em>
  <span>before, and it felt incredible to finally knock the egomaniac down a peg. But as he shut off the illusions and started on his usual boastful monologue, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      There were no quips or rebuttals to anything in his speech, not even the slightest twitch at any of the names or mockery he’d come up with for him. Instead, the hedgehog was fixated on the floor in front of him, his breathing picking up while his arms hung limply behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <b>
    <em>Hm.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    
  </b>
  <span>He slowed his speech, watching as Sonic began to full-on hyperventilate, before burying his face in his knees, clearly trying to become a ball, though that couldn’t be comfortable for his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Rodent!” He tried, still keeping his prideful tone, “Are you even listening to me?” No response, just the pitiful little rat continuing to lay there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “..Sonic?” he asked again, a touch more hesitant now, still receiving no answer. He looked closer at the screen, and noticed a slight...wavering, in Sonic’s form, though he couldn’t quite make out any finer details. With a grumble, he shut off the mic to the intercom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Orbot, zoom &amp; enhance!” He barked at the red robot, who dutifully repeated the order to the computer mainframe with a sigh. The video zoomed in on the hedgehog, and Eggman stared at it for several seconds, eyes widening as the footage in fact confirmed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sonic was shaking. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Not just from the hyperventilation, he was <em>full-on shivering,</em> from... <em>something</em>. </span>
  <span>He sat there, confused, till he also picked up on a small sound from the room, other than the ragged breathing. He raised the volume and listened for it again, and sure enough, there was a small sniffling noise between the quick shallow breaths that made up most of the audio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Oh no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Sonic was </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The second best hedgehog at repressing his emotions </span>
  <em>
    <span>(first place being taken by Shadow of course)</span>
  </em>
  <span> was now </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying </span>
  </em>
  <span>because of Eggman. If he had just a quarter less of his heart he would have been proud, but he unfortunately still had a bit of humanity left in him, and couldn’t help the pang of guilt he felt. He had known Sonic several years now, having watched him grow from a kinda-awkward mostly-arrogant 13-year-old into the slightly-less-awkward and </span>
  <em>
    <span>painfully-</span>
  </em>
  <span>arrogant 17-year-old he was today. He knew how much it took to make him cry, so he knew he must’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> stepped over a line today…which, to be fair, he should probably have seen coming. Looking back on it he had clearly gotten a bit too intense with the dramatics of this, not properly considering how it would look to someone who didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was a hologram. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     A particularly loud gasp from Sonic’s end drew Eggman out of his thoughts and reminded him that there was still a teenager having a panic attack in his base. He stood up abruptly, knocking Orbot over in the process, who looked up at him in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Computer, dim the lights in holo room #1 by 50% and release Sonic’s handcuffs.” The computer complied, and the instant Sonic’s arms were free he curled himself into a proper sphere, rolling off to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Sir,” Orbot interjected nervously, “Are you sure this is-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Shut it. Go get a glass of water and a blanket and meet me in his cell. I’ll go try to calm him down.” Eggman left quickly, ignoring Orbot’s objections and heading straight for Sonic’s cell. He tried to rehearse possible apologies on the way, knowing he would still likely mess up whichever one he tried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    When he entered holo room #1 he could see Sonic tense, making him pause for a moment, before walking over to the force field containing him. He reached over to disarm it, when he faltered for a moment. Could he possibly be faking…? That would be a brilliant plan to get him to open the doors… There was another sniffle from the cell and he scratched that thought. The kid was way too proud to risk his “street cred” for something like this. He slammed his hand on the fingerprint detector and stepped into the cell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...Sonic?...You hear me…?” He tried, his mind drawing a blank on </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>exactly he thought he could help with. The sniffling did quiet down though, giving an indication that the blue rodent was at least aware that he was there. Eggman sat down, keeping to the other side of the cell from the hedgehog, so he would have some room. There was a pause, as he collected himself, trying to remember the proper procedure for panic attacks, before trying again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You need to control your breathing, Sonic. Take a deep breath. Can you do that?” He asked, trying to sound soft in spite of his typically gruff voice. His attempt seemed to work, as he heard the teen do his best to breathe in deeply, his breath hitching and him trying again, "Come on, in 4, hold 8, and release to 7. You got this..." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Eggman only had to help him count out the breathing technique the first couple of times before he heard him tapping out the seconds with a finger. Gradually his breathing evened out, and his shaking became just small tremors every few seconds. He was still crying, evident by the occasional sniffle that broke through, but that died down soon as well. They both existed like that for a few minutes, Sonic refusing to speak or uncurl, Eggman not sure what to say next. The silence was broken when the door to the cell room slid open, and Orbot and Cubot flew in with the requested items.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I have the water here…” Orbot whispered, placing it down next to Eggman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “And here’s the blanket!” Cubot said in its typical voice, tone-deaf as always. Eggman yanked the blanket from Cubot, mumbling about its incompetence, and shoved them both back towards the door, before turning to face sonic again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   He noticed a flash of an emerald eye peek at him before retreating. He was like an entirely different person like this… shy, timid, </span>
  <em>
    <span>quiet</span>
  </em>
  <span>… Chaos, if he was like this in any other circumstance the doctor would relish in it. He shook his head, as though that would shake his thoughts out, and pushed the water glass closer to Sonic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Water. Don’t spill it,” He muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The hedgehog peeked out a little bit more from under his quills, before reluctantly uncurling and picking up the glass. He turned to partially face the wall as he drank, still trying to hide his face somewhat. It took another ten seconds of silence for Eggman to realize he was still holding the blanket, so he scooted closer to drape it over the hedgehog’s shoulders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The teen flinched when the fabric first touched him, but once he recognized it as a blanket and nothing dangerous he relaxed again. Though he still seemed to be pretty tense from the attack. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    They both sat there quietly for a while, Sonic wrapping the blanket tighter around himself while Eggman stared at his own hands silently, wondering how the hell his life ended up like this. And also what was coming after this part… he hadn’t planned further than just trying to get the hedgehog to stop crying. Should he just release him…? It wouldn’t be a fair fight for the hero after all this… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The sound of a glass clinking on the concrete floor interrupted his thoughts, and he looked over to Sonic who cleared his throat, making eye contact then looking away again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...So, that was… weird… sorry about that,” He mumbled. His tone sounded like he was trying to crack a joke, but couldn’t think of a punchline halfway through and just gave up. Eggman sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I didn’t stop to consider how that skit would feel to someone who thought it was real… I didn’t mean for it to be so… impactful,” he confessed. The hedgehog snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “You didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean </span>
  </em>
  <span>for a realistic enactment of my closest friends being murdered in front of me to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>~impactful~</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Eggman winced at that. He should’ve expected the kid would call him out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well, doesn’t sound great when you put it </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>way…” He grumbled, ignoring the forced scoff from the other. Not that he really had an argument to counter with. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>intended to scare the hog, make him fear for his life a little, the usual bits. He’d figured that he was already well enough acquainted with death from his &amp; his friends’ share of near-death experiences that he wouldn’t respond too badly. He’d expected him to try to push through, or shake it off, not…  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    He looked over at the boy, who was still wrapped in the blanket, staring dejectedly into space in front of him. His eyes were slightly puffy from crying, and there was an occasional shiver he was trying to hide. So he was clearly forcing his sarcastic attitude and laughs, then. Did he always do this? ...How much of this was really just from the hologram? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Sooo, are you gonna do it?” Sonic asked, clearly going for a playful tone but ending up sounding more...nervous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...Do what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Apologize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Didn’t I do that already?” Eggman huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Noo,” he spoke as though lecturing a toddler, “You said you SHOULD apologize, not that you do.” The doctor rolled his eyes. He’d expected pedantry from the fox, not the blue rat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Yes yes, I’m<em> sooorry</em>, Hedgehog,” He responded sarcastically, waiting a beat before looking away and adding in a more serious tone, “Really. ...I am. ….but…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Sonic raised an eyebrow and parroted him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Buuuuut?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “I have to wonder… was your reaction </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>because of the illusion, or is there something else going on?” The teen froze, his face falling as he turned away again, remaining completely silent. Eggman took this as a sign to continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Because, the fear of losing your friends, while surely intense, must not exactly be new to you, correct? It’s something you’ve been grappling with for years I’d imagine… and while this one was certainly more… real, than most other things you face, it doesn’t seem like you to fall into a panic as your first reaction to this. Usually, when things look bleak, that’s when you fight your hardest. It’s your most endearing and annoying trait. So what was different thi–?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>      The doctor cut himself off upon looking at the hedgehog. He’d started shivering and curling into himself again, his face was buried in his knees. Okay then. At least he could confirm his theory that it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> his fault, but that didn’t make this situation much better. Was this a good time to push for more info? He didn’t want to pry or make him more uncomfortable, but… Eggman hadn’t cornered him, the doors were unlocked, he could leave whenever he felt like it, and the doctor was nearly certain that Sonic was aware of this. Yet he was still here. So maybe...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...Come on, bro to a bro? I know I’m your sworn enemy, but I promise not to tell a soul.” He heard Sonic take a steadying breath, sitting up a bit more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...Does that include robots.” Ok, fair question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “I swear to you that I won’t tell any</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing </span>
  </em>
  <span>or any</span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He put a hand over his heart, as though swearing an oath. The hedgehog looked at him wearily, before turning away again. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to speak, before finally just taking a quick breath and shutting his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yesterday was the anniversary of my parent’s death.” His voice was rushed and had a forced monotone to it, an attempt to hide whatever emotions that were rising. Eggman just balked for a second, trying to formulate a proper response to the new information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Sonic I… I had no idea…! I would have never- I mean- I shouldn’t have–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It’s ok.” The hedgehog interrupted his rambling, making him fall silent. “...Tails is the only one who knows, and I know he wouldn’t tell you, so you had no way of knowing…” He mumbled, playing with the hem of his glove. Eggman mentally made note of the date, so he could know when to hold off next year. For now, he had to work on damage control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “...I see. Still, my condolences. That can’t be easy to deal with...” He said. There was a weak, breathy laugh from the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Honestly, It’s not really losing them that hurts. Or, mostly anyway. I was like, 4, I barely remember them…” He paused, taking a shaky breath, “It’s that, I just… I grew up without any real family, right? Just running between towns, finding food where I could… I didn’t really have much direction in life. Then I met Tails… and Amy, and Knux, and Sticks, and I-I’ve just been th-thinking l-lately…” he paused again, trying to compose himself. Eggman just sat patiently and waited for him to continue, kindly ignoring the small sniffles he was trying to suppress. When he had mostly gotten control again, he kept going, “...They’re the only family I really have. And if I lost them… If I have to lose </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>family and go back to how things were </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>them… I-I don’t know what… Or how...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Eggman wasn’t sure what to say. That was a reasonable fear, incredibly reasonable with how they spent their days. Mostly he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this kid somehow trusted him enough to share all this, despite everything. This was followed by the much more horrifying realization that the kid's story made him feel... concerned? Worried? He shouldn’t be getting choked up over him, he was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>enemy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Still, he couldn't help it. He took a deep breath and scooted closer, cautiously putting a hand on his shoulder, noting how the hedgehog tensed at the contact. When he didn’t try to push him off, he started rubbing little circles with his thumb, trying to be comforting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>   “...You can never tell anyone this, but… I could never actually kill you guys. That’s all just empty threats. It’s always been my plan that if–that </span>
  <em>
    <span>when </span>
  </em>
  <span>I take over the world, I would just keep your group captive,” He said earnestly. There was a soft scoff from the smaller one, who was refusing to look back at him, but slightly relaxing against him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Wow, being kidnapped instead of murdered? I’m honored!” Came the ever-sarcastic response, walls up once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “You should be, it’s not often I show mercy!” He smiled when he heard a small laugh. He waited a moment before continuing, “...And I wouldn’t let another villain kill you guys either. You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> nemeses, alright?” He lightly squeezed the teen’s shoulder to emphasize his point, watching how his breath hitched for a moment, and he then tried to sneakily wipe at his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Tsh, yeah yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Despite Sonic’s sarcastic tone, Eggman felt a smaller gloved hand rest on top of his own, holding him there. A silent thank you. It hadn’t been said directly, but the hedgehog clearly picked up on the underlying message: </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re safe here.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just because they were enemies didn’t mean he couldn’t offer the kid support, especially since he seemed to be the closest adult presence in his life, which was… not something he wanted to consider the implications of right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Eggman rubbing small circles into his shoulder through the blanket, while Sonic stared at the floor. They were both procrastinating, neither really wanting to break the moment they were having, or confront what it said about them. It was nice to just exist outside of that for now, pretending as though this was a perfectly normal thing for them to do. Sonic had leaned his head slightly on their hands, which was probably the closest he was willing to get to an actual hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     It was nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     ...But it had to end eventually, so Sonic took it upon himself, giving a small squeeze to Eggman’s hand before letting go and standing up, the doctor following suit. The hedgehog turned to look at him, giving a small, but genuine smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “So we agree to pretend that this never happened, right?” The teen asked, his voice almost back to his usual easy-going tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Of course! If any of the other villains found out I showed you mercy I would be laughed out of villainy for good!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Hmm… for good you say?” Sonic asked with a smirk. Eggman glared and crossed his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Don’t test me, Rodent!” The rodent in question just started laughing, and the doctor didn’t even try to hide the smile that crept up onto his face. It was good to have him back to normal. The laughing died down, and there was another pause, both of them stalling a bit longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Well, I’ve gotta…” the hedgehog started moving towards the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Yes, go on. Your communicator is on my office desk.” Sonic nodded and started turning to leave when Eggman realized he wasn’t done, “Wait!” The hedgehog turned back around to face him, raising an eyebrow, “...I don’t think I actually said it properly, so... I am truly sorry for all this.” The hedgehog looked away thoughtfully, seemingly serious for a moment, before looking back with a more playful glint to his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Wow, Egghead, if I knew you were this soft, I would’ve tried having a panic attack in front of you </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>ago!” He teased, and the doctor scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “Get out of here before I change my mind and capture you again,” He warned, with no real bite behind the threat. Sonic smirked and opened the door, turning to leave, before stopping, his back still to Eggman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “...Thank you, though....” His voice sounded smaller for a moment there, more genuine… a bit of his emotions seeping through again. In less than a second it was back to his normal arrogance, “...Even if it was your fault. Oh! Also! If the team asks how this went, tell them I kicked your butt as usual. Toodles!” And he was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Typical. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     Eggman looked around the room, feeling a twinge of sadness over that he’d have to dismantle it now. But there was no way he was trying this again any time soon… Now it was just another invention he would have to throw into one of his storage rooms to collect dust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     For now, he had to delete some footage, erase a few memory files, and plan a far less horrifying trap for next week. Something more fun, with far less death. He made a silent promise to himself to keep his attacks that way. He’d rather get beaten a hundred times than make that little critter cry again, and he was starting to be ok with that.<br/>
</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and then sonic went home &amp; compartmentalized that whole event so he could pretend it never happened, as healthy emotionally stable hedgehogs do.</p><p>(also, Eggman calls Sonic a drama king instead of queen bc Sonic's trans &amp; he doesn't ever want to misgender him in any way)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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